Festival Season

Oh hey Glastonbury! It doesn't seem five minutes since I was sat in the car park queue to leave after last year!

For those of you who have never experienced Glastonbury - nobody is joking when they say it's the best, most magically incredible place on earth. I don't think there'll ever be a point where I don't want to go. It's addictive and it's HUGE. You could go for 10 years in a row and still not experience everything it has to offer. 

I'm planning on taking rolls upon rolls of camera film with me, so hopefully (if they don't get submerged in mud floods) I'll have a colourful post of my week there for you within the next few!

This will be my tenth music festival and I am still as giddy as the first time I ever went to Leeds fest. Even with a forecast of rain, nothing can dampen my excitement for wandering around Worthy Farm to the soundtrack of some of my favourite musicians. I thought as a little intermittent post, I'd sort of round up my own personal Glastonbury lineup, and who I'm most excited to see:

Kanye West

Obviously. The whole story about that petition that garnered thousands of signatures to axe Kanye and replace him with 'a rock band' really irritated me. Glastonbury is about variety, not just rock and roll. Glastonbury is a festival for contemporary arts, and some might argue Kanye is the single most contemporary artist there is right now. Also, who doesn't know every single word to Gold Digger, hmm?

Chet Faker

I recently chose to go see Joey Bada$$ over Chet Faker, but I think seeing him at Glastonbury might just top the Manchester Ritz. Thinking In Textures is an absolute first class album and I canny wait to see it live.

Milky Chance

I love these guys. They're like a mega chilled out Black Keys and I've had their debut 'Sadnecessary' on repeat for the majority of this year so far. Plus, they're pretty much the last act I'll see on Sunday night, which I think will just complete my line-up!

Django Django

Because I missed them two years ago! I didn't even realise they were playing until I watched the Glastonbury footage on BBC a week after the festival! If their first album is anything to go by, their second (which admittedly I haven't listened to yet - obviously I'm saving myself for the full experience...) will be insane live.

Jamie XX

Don't get me wrong, I'm sad that the Foos won't be playing but luckily we saw them play Old Trafford a couple of weeks ago! There's no chance I'm watching Florence wail her way barefooted around the Pyramid stage, so I'll be off to Jamie XX to see In Colour in all of it's beautiful, beautiful glory.

Run The Jewels

You can't experience the extent of Glastonbury's variety without spending a few solid hours at West Holts during a hip hop act. Last year was Jurassic 5 - who hands down gave the most incredible festival performance I've ever seen - this year it's Run The Jewels. I'm excited.

Fatboy Slim

Even though he plays like 17 times every single year, you can't not really!

There are many, many more artists I know I'll catch over the weekend, but this is just a snippet of who I want to see. But that's the great thing about Glastonbury - you end up seeing things you ordinarily wouldn't - example - last year we stood in the rain dancing to the Mariachi's! Hopefully the weather next week will be as glorious as it was on these photos back in 2013 - a girl can dream!

March Playlist :

Young Fathers - DEAD

When these guys won the Mecury award I wasn't too sure. I don't think I'd listened to them before then and was kind of miffed that FKA Twigs had missed out on it. Having said that, I'm now kicking myself, waiting for their new album to drop. This album from last year is a beaut, and every single song speaks for itself and isn't overshadowed by another. Keeping my fingers crossed they'll be announced on the Glastonbury line-up!

Kendrick Lamar - To Pimp a Butterfly

I've been waitinggg for this album for what seems like forever and it certainly doesn't disappoint! It's a shame it leaked early and it's also a shame that it's not going to be released on vinyl, but I guess it doesn't matter when the album is soOo good.

Raury - Indigo Child

This guy is my Spotify find of the month. I've never heard him before scrolling through this week's New to Spotify... This six song album is just brilliant and 'God's Whisper' is the track you should all go listen to riiight now...

Rag'n'Bone Man - Wolves

I went a Rag'n'Bone Man gig last weekend at the Deaf Institute in Manchester. I've been to a lotttt of gigs in my time, but somehow that was the first at that venue and we ended up stood next to Bipolar Sunshine all night! The gig was bloody brilliant and I've got a lot of time for his soulful voice, so I've had this album on repeat since!

What have you lot been listening to over the last month?

February Playlist :

Drake

Errr duh. Of course Drake. Drake's my number 1 since forever. Granted this mixtape is certainly nothing on nothing was the same. But in my eyes he can really do no wrong. 

Apart from appearing in a particular Nicki Minaj video. But we can get past that.

Father John Misty

One of my favourite things about Spotify is the ability to find amazing artists you've never even heard of before in just a few clicks. This guy in particular is one of those, found through a few 'similar artists'. How cool is that album artwork?!

Jose Gonzalez

He's like a Swedish Ben Howard. Vestiges & Claws is a brilliant, brilliant, beautiful album and if you haven't listened to it yet you're seriously missing out.

Flying Lotus

I'm going to see this guy at some point over the next couple of months and I'm SO excited. This album is genius and I've had it on repeat in between intense Drake sessions...

January Playlist :

John J Presley

No relation to the King. That I know of.. I first heard John J Presley on Xfm's Great Expectations for this year. His voice is so rough and raw and just ugh. 

BANKS
Who isn't obsessed with BANKS? She's released one of the absolute best albums of the year in my opinion. 

Mac De Marco

My housemate introduced me to this guy a few months ago, and he's become my go-to chill-out man. He sounds very reminiscent of Kurt Vile, so I'm completely in love really.

Nick Mulvey

I'm going to see him in Manchester in March at the Albert Hall which I am looking forward to SO much. Ugh. His music is magical and I this is one of those albums I've loved since it was released and can still listen to over and over and over and...

Yeah so... Seeing as though I've recently upgraded my Spotify to Premium - which by the way, is best thing I've ever done - I thought I'd include a post on the artists I've had on repeat this month! This is a bit of a change from everything else, but music is a major part of my life, and I thought this is a good place as any to document some of my favourite artists of this year.

Gig Guide : Xfm Winter Wonderland

The Apollo isn't my favourite venue as I find it near impossible to see over anyone's head. Apparently there's a lot of tall people in Manchester and I'm not one of them.

I'm also repeatedly disgusted by the carpeted gangways which squelch when you happen to step on them. 

However, for such a small venue it doesn't half have a great line-up all year round. This Monday I went to Xfm's Winter Wonderland, which happens in Manchester and London every year. The Manchester line-up is always better though obvs. It started at 6pm which was a bit of a mad rush and we ended up missing the majority of Bear's Den which I was a bit gutted about. The rest of the line-up went as follows: Circa Waves, Jimi Goodwin of Doves, Liam Fray of Courteeners, Catfish and the Bottlemen, George Ezra, Wild Beasts, and, of course, headlining was Ben Howard.

George Ezra is one of my favourite people at the moment, his voice is timelessly brilliant and he's ever so talented. After seeing him on Radio 1's Introducing stage at Glastonbury this year it's kind of insane how popular he's become in a matter of months! 

In fact, everyone was incredibly good, even though they were each limited to a tiny 20 minute-ish slot. But of course, Ben Howard just topped off the night perfectly. I Forget Where We Were is probably my favourite album at the minute - it's so atmospheric and totally different from Every Kingdom in the best possible way. The stage looked like a set of ghosts as Ben and band picked their way through the new album and the stage lights lit the crowd.

All in all, for 30 quid, Winter Wonderland is one of the best mini festival types I've ever been, the line-up was ridiculously good and it was all in aid of such a good cause; War Child.

Gig Guide : Bombay Bicycle Club

So on a very hungover sunday travelling back from London after seeing Kasabian at Brixton Academy we rushed back to get ready to head back to Manchester to see Bombay at the Apollo.

Peace were the support act (we missed SiVU) and to be honest, I was a big fan of them a couple of years ago. But two years on and they've hardly released any new material and it just felt a bit like they were wasting time before Bombay could come out. Even though I was suffering immensely from a hangover from hell, and chugging Pepsi like I hadn't had a drink in a week, there's something so magical about Bombay Bicycle Club that makes everything OK again. 

I always think gigs go too quickly (probably cause I'm usually a bit drunk), but this spectacular hour and a half seemed to last an age! Probably because there was so much to take in - this is a band that always makes such an effort to show everyone a good time. There were fireworks and streamers and little paper tickets that were shot into the air - it was almost as if we were back at Glastonbury. 

In amongst all of this, the stage graphics that flickered through slides onto five circles behind the band as they played through So Long, See You Tomorrow, were just incredible. Big up to the designers that put those together. This is the first time I've seen Bombay at a gig, the previous three times were at Benicassim, Leeds and Glastonbury festivals. I've loved them every time, but I can't imagine any other gig would top this!

Gig Guide : Kasabian

Aside from usual posts of wishlists and Pinterest boards and while hiding inside from the cold, I figured I don't really post as much as I'd like to on here.

After four long years at university, I've realised that fashion is not my forte and I don't actually enjoy buying into trends and getting excited over H&M collaborations. Instead I'd rather wear whatever I want to and not care if my nails aren't the right shape for this season. I feel completely the same about this blog. Not that it has nails. But I don't feel like posting things I'm not interested in just for the sake of people agreeing with my opinion. 

Anyway my point being that I'd rather post about things that I enjoy and not plan or force a post I don't feel like. So this post might differ slightly and get no views but at least I enjoyed adding the photos to it... 

When I was fourteen, my friends and I would go to at least a gig a week. My dad would drop us off and pick us up from Manchester or Liverpool after seeing Kids in Glass Houses or N-Dubz (no regretz). The past year I've been reliving my teenage years with my boyfriend by going to as many gigs as we can possibly afford to, and over the last few months we've seen FKA Twigs, Alt-J and Joey Badass - just to name a few.

This weekend just gone has honestly been the best in a while. Travelling down to London to see Kasabian at Brixton was the best decision I think ever? Even if it meant spending about three hours travelling down. Getting drunk on wine and being sped to the gig by an overly excited black-cab driver who didn't want us to miss the start was great. And the set was incredible. We didn't realise until a few hours before that it was going to a late set, with Kasabian only on at 10:45 and only coming off after 1am. Leaving Brixton drenched in beer was well worth the two hours of pure gold. Serge and Tom are my favourite guys. There's just something about watching your favourite band play in a tiny venue with every single person singing along and jumping around that cannot be topped. 

This is the third time I've seen Kasabian and seeing them headline Glastonbury this year was an unreal experience, being in amongst flares and people on shoulders and a cameo by Noel Fielding/Vlad the Impaler... 

Wednesday Wishlist

Monki Check Shirt Dress

Because why not further your plaid shirt collection with a seasonal flannel dress? Clueless yellow and black is everything.

Weekday Camel Coat

I've been searching for the perfect camel coat EVERYWHERE, and while it's not yet freezing outside, this blazer like style looks perfect for the new season. 

Vagabond Boots

I'll never not want every pair of Vagabond boots. These are my current favourites!

ASOS Knitted Maxi Dress

I'm determined to experiment with longer lengths and layers this season and this dress is perfect!

H&M Circle Necklace

See my prior post on my obsession with fine jewellery, this fits riiight into my collection!

H&M 3x Rings

They're gold and pretty and you can never have too many stackable rings right?

H&M Blue Cotton Shirt

It just looks so comfortable and oversized and can be paired with pretty much anything. 

So much better then double denim-ing.

J Dilla Donuts Vinyl

Simply because I've had this album on repeat for months, and my vinyl player that I got for my 21st is my favourite toy.

THROWBACK

FOOD

My latest girl crush is mega babe Kelis. Since Lil Star and Millionaire she's grown so much as an artist and this latest album, Food, is her sixth. It's so much classier than her Milkshake days - a song which everyone thought was pretty much a one hit wonder. She's such a soulful, versatile voice, which only aids her in so many different genres. 

Jerk Ribs and Rumble are the first two releases of the album and they don't disappoint. Her smoky voice belts out the r&b numbers, while the keys and electronica beats make it so different to what everyone else seems to be doing at the minute. It's got the makings of a summer soundtrack record, and I definitely, definitely need it on vinyl!